New Public Affairs Committee To Hold 1st Quarterly Public Forum

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New Public Affairs Committee To Hold 1st Quarterly Public Forum

Posted on 02/24/2016

The Portland Board of Public Education recently approved establishing a Public Affairs Committee. Now that new committee is about to hold its first quarterly meeting with the public, to talk about ways to ensure that Portland continues to have great public schools.

The first public forum will be held on Saturday, March 12, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the Cummings Community Center, located at 134 Congress St, on the second floor of the fire station on Munjoy Hill.

The committee is calling its quarterly engagement tour of the city “Great Schools, Great City,” said at-large school board member John Eder, chair of the new committee.

“Great schools make great cities and we believe that in order to have great schools we have to involve everyone in the city in the conversation about the future of our beloved neighborhood schools,” Eder said. “There is a proud tradition of broad community involvement in our schools, including not just parents but other community members, because many of our schools are also neighborhood centers. With that in mind, the school board is reaching out to the entire community in quarterly meetings to be held around the city on Saturday mornings, in an effort to engage folks on the state of our building infrastructure and the activities of the Portland Board of Public Education.”

He said the goal of the public forums is to foster an ongoing dialogue between city residents and policy makers on the school board. The meetings are designed to give the public opportunities to give feedback, raise concerns, ask questions and share ideas “in a safe space outside of the regular Board of Public Education meetings.”

The school board approved establishing the committee at its Feb. 2 meeting. The committee’s two other members are at-large board members Pious Ali and Sarah Thompson. The purpose of the committee is “to build community engagement and connection to school board work by facilitating opportunities for the committee and board members to listen, take feedback from, and connect with the community. The committee will work to build awareness in the community as to the purview and scope of the board’s work and explain opportunities to interact with the board.”

PHOTO CAPTIONS: (Above) At-large school board member, John Eder, chair of the new Public Affairs Committee. (Below) Public Affairs Committee members Sarah Thompson and Pious Ali, both at-large members of the school board.